Member FAQs
About AGWA-UAW, membership, and rights.
Who makes the decisions and is in control?
Members do! All major decisions are made democratically by union members, and a great benefit of having a union is that there are established structures and procedures for making decisions, communicating and resolving issues, and the legal and administrative structures to support and facilitate this that we can adapt to our context in Alaska.
The Executive Board is a group of union members elected by union members who develop proposals that get voted on by members.
As a chapter of UAW there are some rules and guidelines (to keep everything legal and copacetic), but as long as local chapter decisions fall within those, the members of that chapter make decisions through a democratic process.
What is the difference between a 'bargaining unit' member and a 'union' member?
A bargaining unit member is any UA Graduate Worker [as defined in Article 16: Recognition]. Roughly, this includes all Teaching Assistants, Research Assistants, Service/Engagement Assistants, Graduate "Student Assistants", and most Fellows.
ALL bargaining unit members, even if they do not pay dues, are represented by the union and subject to the CBA, including having all the rights and protections afforded by it. However, they do not get to cast ballots in union votes or run for positions unless they are a union member.
A union member [A.K.A dues-paying member] is a bargaining unit member who pays dues and can therefore vote on decisions and in elections and can run for elected positions (e.g. Executive Board, Steward).
What are dues?
UAW membership dues are 1.44% of gross income. Each individual student employee can decide whether or not to become a dues-paying member. Becoming a dues-paying member allows you to vote on decisions, vote in elections, and run for Executive Board and Steward positions.
Dues are an important source of power for us, and are independent resources that support our work (unlike, say, student fees which are controlled by the University of Alaska administration). Union members democratically decide how union dues are spent, and create accountability. Your Union dues get split between the local (AGWA-UAW1907) and the International. Local dues go toward day-to-day expenses (printing, meeting snacks, etc.), office space, and merch. International dues go towards legal assistance, costs related to grievance filing and resolution, the UAW strike fund (which pays workers on strike, including us if we have to strike someday), and other operational costs.
Why did we join with UAW?
We have affiliated with UAW (International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America) to help us successfully bargain as a union. UAW is one of the largest and most diverse unions in North America. Over 100,000 employees in higher education have already chosen to join UAW, including Academic Student Employees at the University of Washington, University of California, Columbia University, and more.
By affiliating with UAW, we are able to draw on their legal and institutional resources as we establish our union and bargain for our contracts.
If I support the union can my PI or supervisor retaliate against me?
No. Federal law is clear: “It is unlawful to discourage (or encourage) union activities or sympathies "by discrimination in regard to hire or tenure of employment or any term or condition of employment." For example, employers may not discharge, lay off, or discipline employees, or refuse to hire job applicants, because they are pro-union.”
UAW currently represents 80,000 Academic Student Employees, Postdocs, and Researchers in the US, and has represented tens of thousands more over the years. There has never been a recorded instance of an academic worker being retaliated against due to their involvement with a union.
The AGWA/UAW organizing committee will support ASEs concerned about possible retaliation. Contact us if you have concerns and questions.
I'm an international student. What are my rights?
As a worker in the US, you have the right to vote in unionization elections, participate in union activities, and speak in favor (or against!) a union. Discrimination against employees because of their union activities/sympathies is against the law. In fact, tens of thousands of international student workers nationwide have actively and visibly participated in their unionization efforts and none have reported retaliation. Participation in union activities CAN NOT legally jeopardize your visa status!
There are several international students on our Organizing Committee who have loudly and proudly expressed their support for a union and worked to create one for graduate workers at UA. If you have any concerns or problems, please contact us at organize(dot)agwa@gmail(dot)com.
Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) [AKA contract negotiation]
How does/did the CBA negotiation process work?
Our Bargaining Committee (BC) (formed with roughly representative proportion of members from each college/campus) develops 'proposals' about each issue, using proposed and/or approved portions of CBAs from other academic and graduate student unions as references and to develop the 'legalese' for the proposal. The BC then meets with the Universities' BC and both teams share their proposals on the issues. Each team then 'caucuses' separately to discuss the others' proposal and make adjustments to their own proposal or language that they find reasonable or acceptable. Then repeat! After a few rounds of this, hopefully both BCs agree on the proposal and put it into the "Tentative Agreement" or "TA" category. Once TA has been reached for all issues, the proposed CBA is sent out to all AGWA-UAW members for approval by majority vote!
Who can vote on union issues/a CBA?
All dues-paying members can vote on union issues and run for offices/positions.
During out first contract negotiation in Spring 2024, all bargaining unit members could vote on issues. But, now that we have achieved our first contract, only dues-paying members can vote.
When will our next CBA be negotiated?
Our current CBA was signed April 2024 and went into effect July 1 2024. It is due to expire December 31, 2026. As per Article 1: Agreement and Duration we will begin negotiations for the next CBA no later than 120 days before that (Sept 2, 2026).
The goal will be to have a new CBA bargained and signed by the end of the contract, but any monetary changes will not be able to go into effect until the Legislature approves the 2027 budget in May 2027. If we do need to keep bargaining past the end of the contract it will be like 2024 when we had to get it done in time for the legislative deadline, but since we will be starting nearly 4 months earlier and it will not be a 1st contract we are hopeful that this will not be as difficult!
One part of our current CBA (Healthcare) will be re-opened for bargaining in Fall 2025 for changes in the 26-27 academic year.
What issues does our CBA address?
So many! You can view a plain-language summary of our current CBA here, and the full legal document here!
Additional topics may be added in future CBA negotiations (including things like childcare subsidies, teaching trainings, etc), and more changes/improvements will be sought for things we did get in this CBA.
Joining the union as a dues-paying member gives you the ability to have a say in what issues we bargain for and prioritize.
How can the union advocate for everyone when every position/department/campus is different?
The university already sets policies (including pay and other minimums) for graduate student employment that all departments must adhere to (see here for UAF and here for UAA). Many departments choose to supplement pay or other benefits but cannot violate established University policy. When we can bargain with the University administration as equals, we review these current policies and decide collectively what we think could be improved or what should stay the same. We can also maintain the flexibility departments have to, for example, pay grad workers more. This is how most Academic Student Employee contracts including ours are structured, because most Academic Student Employees wouldn’t vote for a contract that results in losses to their current situations.
We’re stronger together!
But isn’t the University of Alaska in the middle of a budget crisis?
Yes, the University of Alaska is struggling. But this is why it’s so important to be at the table when the administration is making decisions that affect us. As a union we are legally entitled to complete, transparent information about the University’s budget so that we can be sure that we have a real say in priorities. It also enables us to make responsible choices about our contract. Moreover, there are a number of policies that are not directly tied to the budget (for example the dispute resolution procedure and protections against discrimination and harassment) that we can improve only when we have the ability to bargain as equals.
Will we have to strike?
Hopefully not! The decision to strike (like all others within the union) is democratically made, and requires a ⅔ majority to be authorized. But any individual does not have to join the strike and we would engage in a process to determine a strategy that would permit maximum participation.
Does the union make everything better for everyone?
Not instantly. These things take time! But by forming a union we have immediately gained more power to make change and establish a predictable, democratic and transparent mechanism for raising, evaluating, and addressing concerns that members have. We also build on standards set by other unionized campuses, and in turn set standards that help elsewhere. The whole point of our union is to provide a democratic process to collect and prioritize member concerns, and more weight and transparency to influence decisions that affect us.
I want to help organize!
Awesome! Send us your name and email at organize(dot)agwa@gmail(dot)com and we'll be in touch.